Uncontrollable Evil II

Recommended Song: Epic Score – Attack on All Fronts)

"We need to surround it before it can get any further out, keep it occupied" The dev ordered as they headed towards the mass of muscle and guts, hearing it roaring and groaning as it headed towards the town in the far distance. "Go loud!" Bronze Team engaged their back-mount weapons with the military convoy rolling up on the side, firing tank rounds at it and blowing chunks from the body, knocking it off kilter as it tried to stay standing.

Railgun fire came from behind as Alpha and Charlie caught up to provide more fire support, creating a half moon arc to the side, trying to close it off. It swung its arms around as it did its best to protect against the onslaught, charging towards the Light tank and attempting to hit it. Unfortunately for it, while it was incredibly strong, it wasn't very fast like the Valkyrja it was made from were, with the tank flipping its treads into reverse and backing away.

The strike at where the tank used to be created a crater in the ground, showing just how powerful it was. The edge of the crater even continued under the still moving tank, with the treads rocketing the vehicle up and out of the area to a better defensive position. The thing seemed to attack like a gorilla, coming as fast as it could on two arms and swinging at anything to destroy it, but wasn't very adept at tactics. There was no knowledge in it, no training or experience from the women that now made up the form of the creature. There were no memories, just the instinct to kill, with no control from anyone.

It figures the son of a bitch couldn't keep it under control. If I had to hazard a guess, you have to be a well-trained wizard to have a battle of willpower with it, and even then, you might not bend it to your will due to the insane high level. Stupid idiot just unleashed a walking world ending event if this thing isn't stopped.

Hrist struck at the legs trying to cripple it as Brynhildr and Skuld went for the shoulders. Their speed was incredible as they dashed around the creature in attempts to keep it busy. "Be careful! If that thing hits you, it's a guaranteed kill!" Selene yelled as she pulled the Lazarus System from her inventory and got it set up. Hrist was kicked back by a stray hit and was launched through multiple trees behind her. She rolled to a stop and slowly got up, wincing from the hit. It was far more powerful than she could have imagined. Brynhildr dodged a hit, but the force of the strike damn near imploded her shield with the concussive force surrounding the arm, breaking her left femur and causing Turnie to grapple her and pull the Valkyrja back to heal the bone.

"Keep your distance! Drop everything you have on it!" Every time they blew off a chunk of the body, it quickly regrew, effectively only slowing it down enough for the task force to keep it from going near that town. She got finished making two military Heavies and put them out on the field to provide assistance, which they were more than willing to unleash hell on the creature. Vulcan cannon fire, rocket pods and plasma rounds erupted on the body, ripping into the arms just as it grabbed Skuld and was about to squash her in its paw, her armor cracking as she screamed in pain. The arm blew off as Skuld rolled to the ground, but the abomination started to change. The Lazarus System charged up and tried to pick a target, with Selene moving through bodies from below, the range being anywhere within one kilometer. "Come on, come on! I don't want any of those idiots! Target this thing!"

Jorge dodged a strike against him with his jump jets, came up behind and slammed his mace into the head as he latched his feet to the back for a second via ice climbing gear installed, temporarily blinding it with the impact he brought down, smashing the head to pieces… but it started to regrow, this time with more bone, hardening as an eye rolled and looked at him. He unlatched and boosted off with his pack, firing his cannon as it tried to reach for him. All four of his shoulder mounts engaged and fired down as it recoiled and let out an ear-piercing scream that echoed for miles, with the mouths of the few remaining heads mimicking the sound emanating. Hrist and her sisters were shaken by seeing Sigrun's mouth screaming on the right arm. Selene finally got a target lock on the thing… but the action was denied. There was nothing to resurrect.

"I figured it was worth a shot…" she muttered to herself as she tried to get it to swap to the anti-necrotic pulse it could produce. As it started to charge, the creature noticed her kneeling near the object and started to bear down on her. It was getting bigger as the body was gaining more mass each time a piece of the extremities was damaged, somehow gaining unholy materials to grow.

"Selene!" Hrist yelled as she ran towards her at her burst sprint speed, three conical air bursts erupting from behind her as she dove and slammed into the woman, toppling her and the system as well as rolling away from the abomination. It hurt, a lot, as the system rolled on top of both of them as they tumbled, but they were both alive. The Lazarus System's capacitors were glitching from the impact though, with the improved structural frame surviving the impact.

"Keep up the pressure!" Jorge yelled as they unloaded a bullet wall against it, slicing off chunks of the body with laser fire and blasting huge holes in the arms and legs with railguns. They had been fighting for well over ten minutes as the dev struggled to get the system standing again. The capacitors were rebooted and recharged a second time, feeding into the emitter as the thing looked in her direction again. She used [Blitzkrieg], [Time for Heroes], [Divide and Conquer], [Peace Through Superior Firepower] and [Golden Army], worried that the thing might actually destroy one of the automatons. She had yet to lose any of the newer versions beyond the box heads, she wasn't about to start doing so now.

"It's detecting the emissions of it each time! Keep it off me until this thing charges up to maximum!"

Hrist nodded as the three Valkyries, and Jorge, charged and kept it occupied, dashing under its legs and trying to knock it to the ground, inhibiting the movement as much as possible. Deacon rapid fired at any eyes to keep the thing blind, the light tank and Heavies firing at its back to deflect some aggro to them when Jorge or the others needed to back off. Ethan was firing everything he had, with the SF helibots above trying to vaporize the arms with their chin mounted guns and door cannons. It was getting harder and harder to work through the bone as it reinforced itself, making it more and more difficult to do any damage to it.

"Things aren't looking very good! It's coming for another pass at her!" Ethan yelped out as it charged right at Selene and the Lazarus System. It was at ninety percent, not enough for the full emission to engage and just casting off lightning at the top. Time seemed to slow a little as she watched it head towards her… before Jorge slammed into the legs and sent it off track. It tried to get up and grabbed Jorge, slinging him around like a kid's toy as it tried to break him. He had engaged every defensive ability he had, which was helping keep his body together, but a few armor panels were bent or breaking. The two heavies rushed in and knocked it back, with Jorge dropped on the ground with a large thud, a small crater appearing under him. Turnie rushed in to repair his body, with only some medium damage to the armor. He was a tough nut to crack with all of his abilities up and in use, but it showed just how much strength the thing had that it could put some hurt on him.

Selene watched as the heavies threw the thing around like linebackers, doing their best to keep it pinned. One of the heavies was knocked back, but quickly regained balance and kicked it back to the first one, attempting to act bullies to keep the thing occupied. As it reached the first heavy, it grabbed the leg and tried to bend it, with four anti-tank missiles over the shoulder received for the attempted dislocation of the extremity. The heavy backed off as it fired suppression fire, with three flash bangs dropped to cover its retreat. The ankle armor for its right leg was damaged, proving that nothing was safe from its new claws.

"Ninety-five… ninety-six… come on come on…" the empress whispered to herself as she tried to keep as much aggro from herself as possible with [Divide and Conquer]. The place was lit up like the fourth of July as just an awe-inspiring amount of firepower was being dropped on it. She was hearing com chatter from the military of FPF being dropped, Final Protective Fire which was predetermined at a certain range of allied forces to impede movement in a certain direction to keep them from being overrun.

It's still not dying, conventional weapons won't work on it… hell, if this doesn't work… a nuke might be my only option…

It looked in her direction for a second, making her worry she needed to bring up some walls from the ground and pin the thing with stalagmites.

"Machinegun fire combat ineffective! Laser rifles can't burn through the bone quick enough! We're fucking losing this!" Deacon yelled out as he couldn't see anymore eyes that weren't protected by a sheet of bone, so he fired off multiple shots at the legs just at the knee to keep it off balance. It was adapting to their weapons fire as it started to get closer to the vehicles that were trying to keep away from it. At one point it got its paws on the light tank, crushing the side armor as it tried to move in full reverse and sliding sideways from the impact, before Selene could launch a giant stalagmite up from the ground, not doing much to hurt it, but it knocked it back and off balance, allowing the tank to back off, the treads whining from the damage. Orlo fired off a concussive blast to keep it wobbling so it couldn't charge, with a salvo from his rocket pod firing off. It ripped up a piece of the ground and flung it at a helibot, which barely dodged the giant earthen projectile.

"Ninety-nine… one hundred!" It looked at her, detected the pulse and charged at her, aggro completely lost. One of the heavies tried to get in the way, but it was knocked back by the force, with the abomination not caring about the mech and went for the Lazarus System and her.

"No no no no!" Jorge ran at it a second time, with no abilities off cooldown just to buy her time. The pulse went off, blasting the thing… but it was still coming. As it charged, Jorge slammed into the torso, sending it collapsing in pieces onto the ground with the legs just flopping and rolling. Selene was sprayed by guts and blood, but she was unharmed. The bodies were lying there, slowly dissolving as Hrist limped up and stared at Sigrun's head.

"I will see you in a newly built Valhalla, sister, in this life or the next." The head slowly dissolved into sparkling dust as it faded away into the sky. Hrist took her helmet off and sat on her knees, just staring at the bodies as they disappeared.

"I am completely out of ammo. Has anyone else got that fucking problem right now? Anyone? This is the first time for me" Deacon yelled out as he checked through all of his weapons. He never had time to pull spare ammunition from Selene's inventory, constantly firing until one weapon was out then swapping to the next.

"Same Deac, same" Ethan replied. Jorge got up as the guts disappeared from his armor and Turnie finished up her repairs on his paneling, then moved to the Valkyrja. Selene got up and winced from phantom pain as she had healed the impact wounds that had come from the raven-haired woman to keep her alive. She made her way over to Hrist and sat down next to her as the blood evaporated as well from her skin. The dev didn't know what to do as she looked at the battle maiden.

"We are without a home, without sisters, and now an enemy has tried to use us against each other. We now number three, which was once ten. I am… unsure… what to do now…" Hrist said quietly as a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

"What do you want to do? You're not bound by some… Asgardian law right now… do what you feel you should. Live. For them, Hrist. You could go on an adventure if you wanted, or… I don't know, settle down? Find a guy? Or girl, doesn't matter really. Open a training school, anything you want." Hrist looked at her and slowly nodded.

"Selene, you have helped us in our greatest time of need, after Ragnarök of course... May I ask for a little more help? It is alright if you decline" she asked her. The empress nodded.

"Sure, if you want a home, I can get you set up, or get you equipped or-"

"May we stay with you? There are things we don't really understand of this new world, with going off on some adventure seeming foolhardy just for honor and fame that might not even happen. It seems worthless if we cannot share it with the rest of our… sisters. This… Artinian kingdom… they are the reason why my sisters are dead, the very same which you are at war with. I ask… may we be a part of your… empire? To help bring them down?" The auburn-haired woman looked at her in shock.

"If you join my empire… it's… well, it would be stupid for you to just be some citizen. So… this might sound a little crazy, but I could understand you being like, I dunno, my Generals maybe? All three of you have plenty of experience, with more to learn with being with my military. I just think it would be-"

Hrist stood up from her sitting position and put her sword tip into the ground and kneeled. "I accept with great honor. I am sure my sisters will be honored as well." Skuld and Brynhildr walked up, with Turnie still healing Skuld. They saw Hrist kneeling in front of a sitting Selene and looked at each other. When Hrist explained the situation, they both agreed and in unison did the same without complaint.

"We, sisters of battle, Valkyrja of Valhalla, Asgard's protectors and bringers of the slain, hereby pledge our loyalty to you, Selene, Clockwork Empress of the Clockwork Empire. May we bring swift justice and protect those who live within its borders." Hrist looked up at her new empress.

"You are very similar to the All Father, wise and strong, but willing to speak when needed…" she told her quietly.

"I'm no Odin or Freyja… but… I appreciate the sentiment." The empress stood up from her spot and put her hand on Hrist's head, moving her hair a little as the maiden was impressed that she knew of Odin's wife. The Valkyrja slowly stood up as Selene's hand fell to her side, six foot four inches of warrior standing before her, a new general of her armies. "Now. I think we still have a loose end to clean up. Orlo, you know where this Nevil is?" The dev asked.

"I have his exact coordinates, given by ornithopters. He's on foot, running towards a large town called Garrington. Shall we intercept?" he asked. Selene looked at Hrist and grinned a mischievous grin.

Meanwhile

Nevil ran as fast as his legs could carry him. What he saw in that ritual room was beyond horrifying. His first actions were to try and control it with the spell, but nothing worked. Before the other necromancers could attempt to contain the situation, the abomination had gone on a killing spree, with his stupid second in command barricading himself in the storage room connected. The fool might think he's safe in there until the thing breaks through the door and reaches in to grab the worm. He on the other hand, escaped via the tunnel and tried to get on his horse, but the thing chased after him, killed his steed and would have nearly ended his life had some stupid magician in the Ghost's Ashes Division come to his aide. The body exploded as he hid behind a tree, waiting for it to pass before using another teleportation crystal. It was the last of its kind that he had, given that the wizard who normally crafted them was in Aureos and wouldn't received another shipment for another three months.

He stopped for a few seconds as he heard explosions in the background, towards the Ashen Call's Fort that was the headquarters of The Ghost's Ash's division. Sounds that he had never heard except for in the Valkyrie temple erupted from that location, with bright lights appearing as where the abomination was thought to be received destruction unlike anything he could imagine. He then continued on, not wanting to be anywhere near what that thing could do.

As he came just over a hill and saw Garrington in the far distance while panting, something above him came down behind his back as the explosions stopped behind him. Before he could even figure out what it was, a powerful shock bolted through his body as he fell unconscious.

One Hour Later

Recommended Song: The Hit House – Hunt You Down (feat. Ruby Friedman)

The assassin commander slowly woke up with soreness throughout his body. As his eyes came open, his eyes moved around as he noticed he was entirely surrounded by metal soldiers with shields blocking him in, with three Valkyrja standing across from him.

"The guardians… they shouldn't be able to leave the temple…" he muttered to himself as he saw Jorge and the rest of Bronze Team a part of the circle. He stood up as Hrist took the lead, throwing a sword to him. He looked at his scabbard to find it empty, with no daggers or hidden weapons. They were very thorough, even pulling the dagger he had hidden at his ankle. He picked up the sword as Hrist took a few steps forward, ready to defend himself. That was all she needed. He tried to strike at her, but she moved like a blur to his side. He continued to attack as she just dodged effortlessly or deflected the sword swings, teasing him. She was going to get some joy out of this. Selene just sat on the top of the light tank, newly repaired, watching with her blessing as the Valkyrja played with her toy.

As if on cue, his fifth strike landed on her chest plate, with absolutely no damage done to it. The reinforced tungsten steel armor simply ignored the hit as she struck with the pommel, knocking him across the circle and cracking a rib. He slowly got up and winced as he brought the sword back up, but she was at his feet in an instant, cutting at his Achilles tendon, making him not able to walk well, the only thing he could do was stand and limp.

"You were the one who started all of this, you were the one who attacked my sisters." She kicked his legs out from under him as he struck again, before knocking him straight into the air with a kick, launching him twenty feet up and jumping to meet him in the air. "You pathetic little creature, playing with that which you do not understand, now it is time to pay the price." She knocked him lightly into the ground, with his left shoulder breaking. He screamed as he rolled over and tried to get up again.

"Please! I can give you whatever you want! The king will provide it to you! I have power! Just stop this!" he screamed out as he tried to protect himself with his hands. She landed and walked up to him, grabbed one of his wrists, and twisted, hearing a snap.

"Give me back my sisters, mortal." He gawked at her, more in pain that in fear, his eyes widening as she looked to be enjoying this. She popped a knee into his chin to bring him to standing upright, temporarily knocking him out as he wobbled on his feet, before he woke up and stared in shock as she slammed her sword right through his chest, lifting him off his feet and just dangling there. He tried to pull himself off her blade screaming, before she kicked him off herself, launching him across the circle again, rolling to a stop. He was dead by that point, but she wanted one last blow to land on his pathetic body. Hrist walked over to his corpse, flipped him over, and sliced his head off with a flick of her wrist. The maiden picked it up by the hair and just held it up in front of Skuld and Brynhildr. They gained an immense satisfaction with their sister bringing justice for the loved ones they lost.

With that, the raven-haired woman threw the head as far as she could, which, with all her strength, launched it clear to Garrington. She roared as she threw the head, the feeling of ending his life bringing some closure, before the circle started to collapse and filter back into the helibots to leave. Three helibots picked up the military force as the special forces got inside an SF helibot and headed back to the castle. The recovery team finished emptying everything of value into a cargo helibot before leaving the Ghost's Ash's fort. In total, close to five thousand men were slaughtered tonight, with no loss of automatons or Valkyries, as well as no empress deaths. The bomber flying above dropped its payload, wiping out the fort completely and sending a message. Something was stronger than the Artinian kingdom, it had destroyed their assassin's branch of their military.

"Ma'am, that man called us guardians from the temple. They must have believed we were protecting it, not part of an opposing force or empire. They still don't know who we are. They're completely in the dark about us still" Orlo reported to Selene via coms.

"I heard that. They still have no idea what they are dealing with, but we just wiped out their assassin's branch of their government it seems. There might be a few stragglers out there on missions, but it looks to be pretty easy to pick them out given they don't seem to understand, you don't fucking brand yourself with some tattoo if you want to hide." She had noticed that all the corpses of the guards along with Nevil had the same emblem tattooed on their wrists, the very same that was stenciled into their armor. "I'm a little worried about where he got these rituals and necromantic spells to make that thing. While it wouldn't be nearly as effective without using the Valkyrja bodies, something like that could be a threat to cities or towns if left uncontrolled. We can't have that. These assholes are crazy, a threat to everyone's life, and in general need to be taken out. Whoever this Fluder is, he's top priority in catching or neutralizing in the future."

"I believe we all concur on that" Jorge replied. Hrist looked at the floor as the helibot headed home, justice delivered. As they finally set down with everyone piling out, Selene had Jeeves get three permanent rooms set up for the three Valkyrja down the hall from her royal bed chambers. She explained that they were no longer guests, but residents in the palace now. This was their home as well as hers.

"I don't know what to say… I… I will do my utmost as your general to protect this empire, you have my word as one of the Valkyrja" Hrist told her as they headed upstairs.

"Hrist, I know. You said you trust me, so now I'm going to say I trust you. I know you'll do the right thing. One more thing though. You and your sisters are going to need mounts right?" Selene patted her on the shoulder and smiled at her.

"What are you suggesting?" The Valkyrja asked.

"I'm suggesting you ride Asterion from now on. Don't think of him as my Pegasus, think of him as the empire's mount that you, as my general, should rightfully be using to lead my armies. You've been training him, it stands to reason you would ride him. I have no idea how to get him in the air anyways." Hrist was dumbfounded, her mouth agape as she didn't know what else to say. "Say yes. That's all. I'll figure out how to get some more prized horses for your sisters, I just don't know of any breeders nearby. That might be the next town I liberate if we find one… we liberate that is."

Hrist gave her a small smile back and nodded, as she looked like she was going to almost cry due to the gift she was being given. Asterion was, while not changing masters, going to be ridden by her instead of the empress, trusting the maiden with her royal steed. While she had lost one family, she had gained another. Now she was going to protect them to the best of her ability. The Artinian kingdom had no clue they were still alive, had no knowledge of what was building and expanding in this valley. They'd find out with an army of very powerful automatons, led by Valkyrja, steamrolling through the land, taking villages, towns and cities from their control.

As Selene walked away from her down the hallway towards her own lavish quarters, Hrist spoke again. "Pleasant dreams, your majesty." Selene stopped mid step and glanced over her shoulder.

"Hrist, about that. I have told Bronze Team to do this as well. When in public, it is fine to call me majesty or empress or highness, but never do it in private. You know my name, use it. I don't need that in my day to day unless I'm actually among the people of this empire. Throw the formalities away when you're home away from prying eyes." The maiden was surprised she could do that, looking around as if she had made a grave mistake.

"I believe highness refers to a princess, not an empress" Skuld stated as she came up the elevator and headed towards her own room. Selene mouthed an "ah" as she learned something today.

"I take it you learned that from one of your trysts with a hero, huh Skuld?" Bryn laughed out.

"I've learned a few things from pillow talk, yes. One of them called me that name, his highness." Skuld giggled out as she looked as if she was swooning. She must have liked that hero.

"Why did he call you that? Were you dressed as someone Skuld?" Bryn asked, curious.

"I won't tell any more than that. My lips are sealed." She disappeared through her door with a wink and closed it, with Brynhildr shaking her head with a smirk on her face as she entered her own room. Hrist was going to like being here, she could tell. She looked at Selene who was already walking away with a fading chuckle, heading towards her own royal chambers. Two Honor Guards stood watch at the sides of the door as she entered.

"Good night Hrist" she yelled down the hallway as she waved over her shoulder without looking back. Hrist was just beaming at her fading figure to her doors.

"It was a good night, wasn't it? Sleep well Selene." The door closed as the Valkyrja turned and entered her own room. The empress took off her armor and put on some pajamas, the time being close to 5 am, nearly time for dawn to rise. She didn't care, as she closed the drapes and had the room only lit by lamps and the chandelier. Sleeping in was going to be nice this time around. There was no real need for a bath yet, with the blood and guts turning to dust and removing itself from her body after she was splashed with it. This would be the first time she had gotten a chance to sleep in while living in the palace and she was going to get the most out of it with the four post bed. The wolves were already lying on top, waiting for her to jump in under the covers. While they wouldn't sleep with her the whole day, they wanted to hang around their Alpha.

"I'm back guys, long night, but it was worth it. Be nice to the new generals ok? Don't go biting them." Blue yawned a little as she gave him a pat, with Luna and Ash curling up again next to her. She flipped the switch and let the lamps turn off.

6th, November

Giles was hard at work bending a shovel back to what it was supposed to look like, not just some curled up piece of metal that seemed more similar to a bakery tool than something for digging dirt. A few of the refugees from Glass Dale were attempting to learn how to be a blacksmith from him, but they were horrible at it. They knew how to work the forge well enough, but shaping was just piss poor. The metals he had gained from Selene were starting to dwindle, as she hadn't shown up in a while, having to use the somewhat poorer ore from the mine and smelting it himself. It was tough work, but he had some help from the new apprentices. It wasn't the same quality of ingots that his friend always brought him, but it would do given the resources were coming from Gold Pine, not from a far off town or city.

"No no no, don't go hitting it that way, you'll break it off without reinforcing the side! Here, give me that! Like this!" he snapped as he took the hammer from one of the apprentices and lightly tapped at one spot, shoved it into the forge to heat the metal up and brought it back to the anvil. As he turned, his eyes glance at Selene for just a moment before doing a double take, standing there in front of his smithy watching him. He nearly dropped the hammer as he saw her there, dressed in gold polished bronze looking metal armor and a tiara, but he knew it was anything but that weak material for her. "Lass! Oh, I mean, your majesty! You're here!" he roared in laughter as he pushed the metal back into the forge and ran to her, stopping himself from giving her a hug. She was his ruler now, it would be improper to grab her in a bear hug.

"Hey there Giles, it's been a little while, sorry about that. Um, ahem…" she cleared her throat and continued to speak "I, as your empress, wholly allow you to give me a hug, your wife as well too once she comes outside." He laughed as he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up as best he could, but she was a lot heavier now with the armor and some muscle, barely getting her an inch off the ground. What he didn't know was just how powerful she had become since the last time they had seen each other. The dev could easily pick him up with a finger, but she didn't want to let it be known that her strength was so high yet.

"How have you been doing? We were afraid you were so busy trying to run the empire, you didn't have time to see us. I understand I understand, you're our empress, I just… hoped it wasn't the last time I was going to have you visit, beyond parades and all." She chuckled at that.

"I've been really busy getting things fixed. Come on, go get Abby, I have a speech to make at the front entrance of the town. I'll make sure a resupply of ingots is brought to you by the end of the day." He nodded in confusion with a small smile on his face and his eyebrow cocked, then ran to the house to grab his wife. As he exited and headed towards the front of the town, now changing quite a bit with a bazaar now created and stores lining the front, there was what looked like one of those giant armored carriages the metal soldiers usually entered to head back to the Boramar Mountains inside. Selene stood on the top of it, waiting for everyone to gather. The amount of people now numbered five hundred, getting closer and closer to reaching a decent size town. Small wooden benches were brought out for the front of the audience, with Abby and Giles allowed to sit there next to Mayor Stafinson.

"Attention! To all my loyal subjects here in the beautiful town of Gold Pine. You have gone through rough times, with a chance for even me to see what you all had to go through, and… this sounds a little hashed together, so bear with me, things got better. I didn't plan this speech out well enough, sorry" she giggled out. The town laughed at her honesty.

I'm a developer, I was never very good at PR or Marketing. I hope I do this speech right.

"Those harsh days are behind you now, the mine is allowed to reopen, the threat has been neutralized, with three of the assailants realizing that they were in error, seeing the conviction of those who wished to survive and help build Gold Pine." Hrist came out from behind the APC, riding Aster as he slowly walked out with his wings on display. Skuld and Brynhildr walked out as well and stood in front of the APC for everyone to see. The people gasped as they stood there, with Aster standing regal and proud.

"They have joined our empire, wanting to protect it, wanting to protect their home. They want a good life, just as much as the rest of you, and they can see how the Artinian kingdom works first hand. They have lost family to them but gained justice in their names. Now, they are my generals, and you will treat them as such with those titles bestowed to them. They are noble, strong, honorable, powerful beyond belief, and know you to be people of this land, our land. We will fight against the Artinian kingdom, bring it to its knees, and show them just how strong we really are. The villages, towns and cities that were once under their control, their fear, will now see what we can do, to shine a light into that darkness, to show those people that we have come to save them from that despair, from being used and cast aside."

Selene's eyes roamed the people's faces as they all smiled at her. She looked radiant before their eyes, the sun gleaming from her impressive armor. She looked like what they needed her to look like, a divine goddess, an empress from the heavens come to protect them and usher in a new golden era that they were in desperate need of. She needed to act the part, even if she had butterflies in her stomach right now due to such a large crowd. It would only get bigger as more people started to live here, or other towns she would get under her control. Would people start living in the Clockwork Castle? Start Clockwork City next to it? The forest would be heavily cut back, potentially damaging the ecosystem. She might have to emplace laws to control that, maybe eventually have Gold Pine merge together with it. The thought of walking out onto a balcony to meet her subjects like she had seen on television on Earth made her feel uncomfortable, just as performing this speech did the same. The dev was going to need to fight through that, show she had the confidence in herself in front of everyone.

"Which is why I am happy to say, though it isn't quite yet finished… Glass Dale is under construction. I have been informed that a good quarter of it is now up and ready, some homes have been rebuilt, with new city planning being provided for better roads, shops, defenses and town administration. This is no real need to leave Gold Pine if you still enjoy living here, I'm simply making sure there is an alternative now. You will not need to walk the road or be riding a wagon, though, it is an option. I will be creating something new to quickly get from one town to another. It is called a railroad, and this, ladies and gentlemen, is a steam train." Selene jumped off the APC and walked to the road entrance, only to slowly pull out from an invisible portal a giant contraption with a wedge-shaped shovel attached to the front. The train was steam powered with long thin generators running along the sides, electric coils wrapping around metal bars and pulsating with energy, yet still had double exhaust stacks on top. In the townsfolk's eyes, it was beautiful, gleaming with golden bronze and black paint, with the number "02" stenciled in gold plating on the door to the engineer's booth. The first train, "01" was going to lead down the railroad to Clockwork Castle.

"This huge thing will pull giant carts that will be well maintained, allowing quick traversal of the land from now on. Gone are the days of staying in one town, never to see family or friends from another, never traveling or visiting others unless you need supplies. You can now do it simply to see if what that shop in Glass Dale is selling is worth your coin, if it has that dress you've always wanted, those toys for your children, or simply to enjoy the ride." The town cheered and clapped as the automaton in the engineer's booth pulled the line on top to work the whistle, making a loud choo choo sound. The townsfolk cowered for a second at the noise but started cheering again as they saw the power this provided them.

"This is only a taste of what is going to happen for the glorious Clockwork Empire. This is only a taste of what we can do. Are all of you ready to make history? We will show not just the Artinian kingdom, but everyone in this world how incredible your empire really is!" Arms were pumping into the air as a few hats were thrown into the sky, as a helibot flew in and held in a hover position just behind the audience, with the people worried it would drop something on them. It was lowering something large with winches, a statue made of moving gears and cogs, all rotating with a large clock connected to it. This was her flag, her symbol to the people that they belonged in her empire. "This is our symbol, this is what each of you are. You are all a gear, a cog in our great machine, keeping it moving, keeping it turning, keeping our time as a great people constantly ticking. Without you, it stops. Will you stop?" A resounding "NO!" was heard from everyone. "Will you stop?!" another "NO!" was heard.

"That's right! We will not stop! We will continue forward, no matter the problem, no matter what will try and block our path! Nothing can face us if we all work together! We will persevere!" Women were crying tears of joy as they watched their empress show them what she was doing for them, with some praying to her. The religion might have already started without her knowing about it. She had not just hidden away in her castle, to leave them to their fate. There was new currency, new buildings, better hygiene, better quality food, better transportation, Glass Dale was being rebuilt, protection from her military, nice homes with quality furniture and cheaper taxes that were used on their community, a hospital and school to keep them healthy and educated with a promise of a library on the way, and most importantly, respect from her. They were her people, just as she was their Clockwork Empress, their goddess. She did not disappoint, not one bit. Every promise she had made, was kept.

Recommended Song: RAIGN – Empire of Our Own)

Three drone fighter bombers flew over in formation, looking like a mixture between an X-wing and a P-51D Mustang in her eyes, with four inverted turbo prop engines on the rear for impressive thrust and capability to maneuver. She had the air, the ground, and soon to be the water, with plans to even gain control of space. Nothing was going to stop her from taking down the people who created that abomination she had to fight, not one single thing. To anyone out there who thought they had a chance, she was coming for them. Her automaton army was coming for them, her Valkyrja generals were coming for them. Whoever this Fluder was that had provided the necromantic power to the assassins, he had better not show up on her continent, ever.

As she finished her speech, the townsfolk were just in utter roar of applause, while in the distance, four armored brigades were rolling towards Glass Dale, not to protect it, but to continue past it. There were already security forces on station to keep it well defended while Juliet worked, along with Romeo getting a Forward Operations Base nearby, completely trouncing any forts in capability and even had an advanced sensor tower built to block unauthorized teleportation. They were going to take the next town, Eld Horn, and make it hers. They must have the same problems as Glass Dale and Gold Pine, but now they were going to see what an empire that actually cared about their lives felt like to be a part of.

They moved in formation with a purpose, LAVs rolling out at the forefront with heavy battle tanks locking their turrets, APCs behind loaded with Lights and Mediums, a few Heavies being carried by helibots guarded by drone fighters above. If there was any sort of Artinian army force there, it was going to be utterly annihilated, or hopefully, surrender without a shot being fired.

Back at the castle, unbeknownst to anyone, hidden near the airfield, were giant bays crafted in the ground with huge bulkhead doors closed. Hidden inside, under massive tarps and cabling, were some of her newest air defenses, still being prepared and provided crews to control them. They came in a few different sizes, but once they were ready, a power unlike anything anyone had seen would be in the skies.

This world, or whatever unseen force that brought her here, might have thought she was already a super power, or maybe it thought she was just meat for the meat grinder, wasting away in a cave to its amusement just to watch her squirm and suffer, but now she was going to make it official. She was going to make her presence known as leader of her new empire. Now was her time to make use of the new equipment she knew she needed to craft, to get satellites, airships, naval vessels built. Selene was going to have an unstoppable army, ready for anything.

This world would have her empire, her name, remembered for all eternity.